Control-sheet for pneumatically-operated devices.



. .HARRIS.

CONTROL SHEET F MATICALLY OPERATED DEVICES. APPL ILED u0v.2.19:e.

1,289,465. I Patented Dec. 31,1918.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 31, 1918.

Application filed November 2, 1916. Serial No. 129,066.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD C. HARRIS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented an Improvement in Control-Sheets for Pneumatically-Operated Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates more particularly to note sheets for mechanical musicalinstruments, although its more general applicationrto any traveling web of paper used to control pneumatic or other equivalent devices, will be apparent. The invention will be described in connection with mechanical musical instruments, as this is believed to be the principal field in which the invention may be used.

In player pianos or the like, a web of paper provided with perforations, is used to control the sounding of notes by pneumatically operated devices. This traveling web of paper or note sheet, as it is called, is wound upon a spool and in operation the note sheet is caused to travel over a tracker bar provided with holes or vents which may be selectively opened or closed by the note sheet. It is necessary that the note sheet lie snugly against the tracker bar in order to effect a substantially air tight closure of the vents which are not intentionally opened by perforations registering with certain selected vents. It is therefore considered essential that an extremely flexible paper be used in making the note sheet and to obtain the requisite flexibility, the paper is usually very lightly calendered. Such paper is very susceptible to expansion and contraction due to changing atmospheric conditions. If the paper is highly calendered it immediately becomes too stifl to unroll properly or to lie upon the tracker bar in satisfactory manner. Therefore, although a highly calendered paper might be stronger and would be subject to less expansion and contraction under changing atmospheric conditions, it cannot be used with satisfactory results. By means of the present invention, hereinafter clescribed, a heavy, stiff, or highly calendered paper stock may be successfully used in the manufacture of the note sheets.

One embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, and therein,

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the relative location of the essential parts of a mechanical musical instrument,

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of a note sheet embodying the invention, and

Fig. 3 is a greatly enlarged sectional view of the' note sheet and tracker bar.

The present invention provides note sheet material which, more by reason. of its structure than on account of its composition, is adapted to lie smoothly on the tracker bar and roll evenly upon or unroll evenly from spools of small diameter.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 shows a music sheet spool 1, a tracker bar 2, and a take-up roll 3. To operate a musical instrument of the character herein generally referred to, the note sheet, wound upon the spool 1, is placed in the instrument in the usual manner and connected with a hook 4 upon the takeup roll 3 by a ring 5, and during the opera tion of the machine the note sheet is unwound from the spool and wound upon the take-up roll thus causing it to pass over the tracker bar 2 and to selectively open and close vents 6 therein. It will be understood that the holes or vents'6 are connected with certain pneumatic mechanisms, usually operated by suction through the tubes 11 so that when a perforation in the note sheet registers with a vent in the tracker a corresponding note will be sounded upon the instrument. v the general condit ons under WlllCll a note sheet is used.

Thus Fig. 1 serves to illustrate It will be observed that the note sheet is originally wound upon a. relatively small spool. If the paper were stiff, this condition would normally tend to cause the paper to curl or to assume a normally rolled up condition even when free from the music spool. If such a condition obtained, the paper would be very apt to arch up away from the tracker bar on account of the relatively slight tension exerted upon the paper by the drag of the music spool as the paper is being wound upon the take-up roll. And furthermore the relatively low degree of suction usually employed will not securely hold the note sheet to the tracker bar when the paper tends to arch up away from the vents. Obviously, such a condition would prevent the proper functioning of the note sheet in connection with the tracker bar vents.

Means are herein provided for increasing the longitudinal flexibility of the note sheet, the same being shown as minute transverse corrugations or scorings of the note sheet material. Referring particularly to Fig. 3 which is a greatly enlarged section through the note sheet and tracker bar, it will be seen that the note sheet material 7 is formed with a plurality of transversely extending relatively thin portions 8 alternating with transversely extending relatively thick portions 9. In the specific embodiment of the invention herein shown, the under side 10 of the note sheet lying against the tracker bar is rela- Lively smooth and this is a preferable, though perhaps not essential condition. The transverse corrugations or scorings of the note sheet material shown herein, are such as might be formed by passing the note sheet material between a pair of rolls, one a smooth surfaced roll and the other a corrugated roll. If sufiicient pressure be exerted by one roll upon the other, the note sheet material may be made to assume substantially the form herein shown.

It will now be readily seen that the thin transversely extending portions of the note sheet form, in a sense, a great number of minute hinges which insure great longitudinal flexibility of the note sheet. This is accomplished without substantially weakenin the note sheet material, due it is believes, t0 the highly compressed state of the paper at the thinner portions thereof. In accordancewith the present invention a highly calendered paper may be used, the structure of the paper counteracting if not entirely eliminating the inherent tendency of the highly calendered paper to curl after it has been kept for some time in rolled condition. Because a. highly calendered paper is much less susceptible to expansion and contraction on account of changing atmospheric conditions, a note sheet of such stock will be superior to the ordinary note sheet. Furthermore in view of the fact that a; highly calendered paper is generally stronger than a paper with a comparatively rough finish it may be found practicable to use paper stock of lighter weight.

It may be further noted that a highly calendered paper is greatly to be preferred on account of the superior character of the perforations which may be cut therein. With well compacted, highly calendered stock the perforations are cleaner in outline due to the more closely compacted condition of the fibers in the paper. Furthermore the lint or fuzz on lightly calendered stock oftentimes is drawn into the tracker vents and even tually results in clogging up "the vents and preventing or hindering proper action of the mechanism. The transverse corrugations which enable a highly calendered stock to be used may, it is believed, actually increase the transverse resiliency of the note sheet.

It is to be understood that the invention may be variously modified and embodied within the scope of the subj oined claims.

1 claim as my invention:

1. A perforated control sheet, for pneumatically operated devices, varying in thickness and having transversely extending thin portions alternating with transversely extending relatively thick portions extending substantially across the entire width of the sheet. 7

2. A perforated control sheet, for pneumatically operated mechanisms, which have a spool, tracker bar and take-up roll, com prising a papersheet havinga smooth back to contact with the face of the tracker bar tiens and being scored transversely across substantially the entire width of the sheet to increase the flexibility of the notesheet on the lines of the transverse scorings.

a. 'A. note sheet for mechanical musical instruments, of relatively highly calendered paper stock, having note sounding perforations therein and having a plurality of corrugations in the note sheet material exname to this specification this 31st day of October, 1916.

RICHARD c. HARRIS.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

